The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-18
pasr Trees from Cuttings.


Pear Trees from Cuttings.
writer in Home and Farm says that
10 propagation of fruit trees by grating
VI budding has been practiced too long and
,ccessfully to claim at this late day that
,;+ber method of propagation is of itself
,ocassarily an enfeebling process. 1t is not
no mere fact that LeConte is grated that
-okas il inferior, for a LeConte grated on
TaConte stock makes first-cass tree.
Nv &c the mere fact that a tree is grown
from, a cutting anything in its favor. The
.,,tb is that whatever goes to make up a
.,it tree, whether seeds, cuttings, stocks,
lofts or buds, must come from trees hay
ma the habits and qualities we want in the
,oy tree All pear-growers know that the
.sor trees of European origin (the common
1oar trees of the country have become liza
10 TO disease and an early death. Seed
fngs of this race Of trees, such as are used
tor stocks. inherit want of vitality, an
,h;,itv to resist disease. The LeConte be-
ongs to the Asiatic race of pear trees, and
G one of the most vigorous and healthy of
to,t trees. Now, we cannot have healthy
oConta or other tree without it has healthy
,ots. and seedlings of the European race of
,oar trees not having inherited healthy
constitution, communicates the tendency to
disease to the LeConte graft In proof of
his, grated LeContes and their progeny
have blghted in our country and are small,
prubby trees, and yield but little fruit com
,ared with the pedigree tree. Furthermore,
be IeConte carries an immense quantity of
roIiaee and annually makes good deal of
new growth when on its own roots. The
ioebler roots of the Seeding of the old race
nj pear trees cannot supply the required
,uantity of sap, especially to support both
fruit and growth Hence, when the grated
/ [eConte arrives at living age, it succumbs
Ind fails to perform its mission unless the
TeConte body has thrown out roots, which
sometimes does. For the same reason the
reConte will not thrive on ounce stocks.
But if we had stocks that were as vigorous
md healthy as the LeConte, there would be
no objection to grating on them.
As stated before, the Seeding stock COM
nunicates its tendency to disease to the
raft and resulting tree, and hence cuttings
rom grated LeConte trees have the con-
animated sap and the same tendency to dis
ase and an early death; and frees grown
rom such cuttings are no better than the
parent tree.
1t cannot be denied that trees and other
plants transmit to their offspring their own
habits and qualities as certainly as animals
/ md man. Like begets like. Therefore seeds
Or cuttings from diseased trees are very
likely to produce diseased trees. Healthy,
thrifty and productive trees can only be
Produced from seeds or cuttings from
nealthy, thrifty and productive trees having
good ancestry. And the same law applies
1 10 all other plants. If we want to improve
bur cotton corn, wheat or vegetables, we
elect seeds from the best plants from year
oYear; but apple seeds from the cider
press, and pear seeds from the berry press
r canneries and peach seeds from anywhere
are deemed good enough to grow stocks upon
which our orchard trees are grated. So
1 We have plenty of cheap young fruit trees,
lew good old ones and little fruit. Many
aiiures of fruit trees to prosper have been
/ charged to soil and climate when the true
ause of failure was in the inherent weak
less of the trees themselves.
Now, we have grown LeConte pear trees
or twenty years and experimental with
hem in every possible way and we have
/ earned that only what we call the Pedigree
| LeConte tree-that is, those grown from
] cuttings in direct line from the original
/ LeConte tree are reliable. This original
leConte is in Liberty county, Ga, nearly
orty years old, a giant in size, and a model
of health, beauty and productiveness. Pedi
gree LeContes are not contaminated with
/ he sap of a diseased or weaker growing
Kind. They are really part of the original
Tree, having roots of their own. These trees
are vassly superior to any grated LeContes.
They are uniformly thrifty and healthy and
make very big trees, and yield annual and
argo crops of fruit
But the mere fact that tree is grown
rom cutting is nothing in its favor. do
not use cuttings from grated trees nor their
offspring. A cutting is but part of a tree,
and If the sap of the tree is contaminated
The sap of the cutting is also, and healthy
Tree no ont